Roma’s perfect start to the season finally came to an end in game 11 when Torino grabbed a point at the Olympic Stadium in Turin. Rudi Garcia’s men dominated the middle of the park but huffed and puffed in advance positions and were only able to muster one goal for the third time in three games.

Roma’s creeping impotency could have come at the ideal time for visiting Sassuolo who have been on the receiving end of some big score lines already this term and look to be in for a long season at the wrong end of the table.

Eusebio Di Francesco’s Serie B champions will have expected a tough return to the top flight but could have done without morale sapping defeats like the 7-0 thrashing at Inter and the 4-1 mauling at home to Livorno, who were promoted last season after finishing third in Serie B.

The visitors have enjoyed a turn around in recent weeks with two wins and a draw in the last four but previous heavy defeats mean they remain in the drop zone due to inferior goal difference. Sassuolo shocked Sampdoria with a 4-3 victory in Genoa last weekend and the trip to Rome represents Neroverdi’s biggest challenge in Serie A since playing a 1-1 draw in Naples in September.

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